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WWE Royal Rumble (2020)
For the third year in a row, 30 female Superstars will battle for the opportunity at sports-entertainment immortality in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match. The winner of the massive melee will go on to challenge for a World Championship at WrestleMania 36. After weeks of sneak attacks and mocking her family, Lacey Evans battles Bayley for the SmackDown Women's Championship. The Man has one last debt to collect as she takes on the woman who beat her at the WWE Royal Rumble (2019) last year, Asuka. Event recap Women's Royal Rumble Charlotte Flair was already the most decorated woman in the history of WWE, but even her gaudy list of accolades was still missing something before Sunday. The Queen seized the most prestigious accomplishment to allude her, last eliminating Shayna Baszler to win the 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble Match and punch her ticket to WrestleMania 36 in Tampa, Fla. But earlier in the bout, no star shined brighter than NXT’s Bianca Belair, who set a new record with eight eliminations in her first Royal Rumble appearance — twice as many as the previous mark. That tally was later matched by fellow black-and-gold brand stalwart Baszler. Belair also displayed excellent conditioning, lasting 33:20 before being eliminated by Charlotte, who also dumped Kelly Kelly and Sarah Logan in addition to Belair and Baszler. The field saw more than its fair share of surprises with unexpected entries, including WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Mighty Molly, Santina Marella and most notably, Naomi, who entered at No. 18 to make the WWE Universe feel the glow for the first time in months. Naomi wowed the audience with resourcefulness after being stranded in no man’s land. Propelled to the outside, Naomi clung to the barricade before her feet touched the floor. She then climbed across the barricade to the announce tables, and after searching for a way back in, she finally decided on using the top portion of the desk as a makeshift bridge back to the ring. Belair was far from NXT’s only representative, as entrants from the black-and-gold brand also included Candice LeRae, Mercedes Martinez, Mia Yim, Dakota Kai, Xia Li, Shotzi Blackheart, Tegan Nox and NXT UK’s Toni Storm. But no arrival changed the match’s complexion more than Baszler at No. 30, and she immediately targeted Flair on the outside of the ring after The Queen had been sent through the ropes by Phoenix and Natalya. Baszler wasted no time before going on an absolute tear, tossing aside Li, Nox, Blackheart, Storm, Zelina Vega, Carmella and Naomi. Her rampage left her in the final four with Phoenix, Natalya and Charlotte. With Charlotte still incapacitated at ringside, Natalya and Phoenix executed a Hart Attack on Baszler, only for Beth to stunningly send longtime ally Natalya soaring over the top rope immediately after. Charlotte sprung into the ring to face off with Baszler in an electrifying moment that brought Minute Maid Park to its feet. Phoenix briefly interrupted the confrontation before being dispatched by Baszler, who then set her sights back on Flair. But with her hands gripping the top rope, Charlotte hooked Baszler with a leg scissors, muscling the former two-time NXT Women’s Champion to the outside for the victory. The events of last year’s Royal Rumble no doubt made the moment all the more satisfying for The Queen, who was the last woman eliminated en route to Becky Lynch’s win. Charlotte soaked up the hard-earned moment, using Charly Caruso’s in-ring interview immediately afterward to remind everyone that the WWE Women’s Division is still hers — something that’s especially hard to dispute after this signature performance. Lacey Evans vs. Bayley Lacey Evans’ dream of becoming the SmackDown Women’s Champion stalled at Royal Rumble, but it wasn’t because defending champion Bayley had stronger offense, superior work ethic or more grit. Instead, the result can be chalked up to Bayley’s veteran wiles. Bayley resorted to underhanded tactics almost immediately after the opening bell. First, she loosened the pad on a turnbuckle, only to be stopped by the referee. Moments later, Bayley feigned a leg injury, creating a pause in the action before sucker-punching the U.S. Marine-turned-WWE Superstar. The SmackDown Women’s Champion alternated between fisticuffs and a grinding submission game to weaken The Lady of WWE. When the action spread to the floor, Bayley slammed Evans into the barricade that separated champion and challenger from Evans’ husband and daughter Summer, who sat front row. Showing incredible determination, Lacey fought off a subsequent Bayley-to-Belly attempt and flattened the titleholder with a standing moonsault. She then took to the air with another moonsault, this one from the top rope, but Bayley blocked it with a pair of boots and quickly rolled up Evans, using a handful of tights for added leverage to score a pin that was as illegal as it was decisive. Becky Lynch vs. Asuka Becky Lynch will forever remember Royal Rumble 2020 as the night that she unquestionably became The Man. Although the moniker has been glued to Lynch since late 2018, it took beating Asuka — the one woman that Lynch had never previously defeated — for Becky to justify her best-in-the-world reputation in her own mind. It’s only poetic that The Man accomplished that goal at Royal Rumble, the same event where Asuka made Lynch tap out one year earlier, forcing a loss that haunted Lynch for a full year. Just like their first encounter, the rematch was an absolute classic, the type of career-defining title defense that the 42,715 WWE fans who witnessed it in person will talk about for years. As the battle wore on, both Superstars gave and received big hits. Lynch launched Asuka off the apron onto the floor with a brutal gordbuster. The Empress of Tomorrow rallied by hip-checking The Man into the ring post (to the delight of her WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship partner, Kairi Sane) and eventually locking in the Asuka Lock, only for Lynch to reach the ropes. Visibly frustrated by her inability to put The Man away, Asuka pelted Becky with soccer kicks to the face, and the last devastating strike caused Lynch to crumple. After checking on the unresponsive champion, the referee was prepared to call the match, but the defiant Lynch regained her senses and desperately pleaded with him not to, just in the nick of time. After absorbing another round of kicks from Asuka, the champion fought back and tried applying the Dis-arm-her, but Asuka shoved her toward the referee. Becky avoided colliding with the official and instead hit Asuka with a spin kick to the stomach, causing The Empress of Tomorrow, who was apparently planning a mist attack, to spew a green fog into the air. Sensing her opportunity, Lynch quickly cinched in the Dis-arm-her, leaving Asuka no option but to submit and paving the way for The Man to continue her historic march toward day 300 as the Raw Women’s Champion. Match results * Pre-Show, Singles match for the WWE United States Championship: Andrade © (w/ Zelina Vega) defeated Humberto Carrillo to retain (14:16) * 30-woman Royal Rumble match: Charlotte Flair won the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble by eliminating Shayna Baszler. (54:20) * Singles match for the SmackDown Women's Championship: SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley def. Lacey Evans (9:20) * Singles match for the Raw Women's Championship: Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch def. Asuka (w/ Kairi Sane) (16:25) Category:Royal Rumble Category:2020 pay-per-view events Category:Women's matches in WWE Category:WWE Raw Women's Championship matches Category:WWE SmackDown Women's Championship matches Category:Alexa Bliss Category:Asuka Category:Bayley Category:Becky Lynch Category:Beth Phoenix Category:Bianca Belair Category:Candice LeRae Category:Carmella Category:Charlotte Flair Category:Charly Caruso Category:Chelsea Green Category:Dakota Kai Category:Dana Brooke Category:Kairi Sane Category:Kayla Braxton Category:Kelly Kelly Category:Lacey Evans Category:Lana Category:Liv Morgan Category:Mandy Rose Category:Mercedes Martinez Category:Mia Yim Category:Molly Holly Category:Naomi Category:Natalya Neidhart Category:Nikki Cross Category:Renee Young Category:Sarah Logan Category:Sarah Schreiber Category:Shayna Baszler Category:Shotzi Blackheart Category:Sonya Deville Category:Tamina Snuka Category:Tegan Nox Category:Toni Storm Category:Xia Li Category:Zelina Vega